Spring-cushion structures



A. J. WITHOFF SPRING-CUSHION STRUCTURES Jan. 1, 1963 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 29, 1959 INVENTOR. .filfred .I wz'i/zo'ff' fliiarney Jan. 1, 1963 A. J. WITHOFF 3,070,814

SPRING-CUSHION STRUCTURES Filed May 29, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

Jan. 1, 1963 A. J. WITHOFF 3,070,814

SPRING-CUSHION STRUCTURES Filed May 29, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. JZZfrecZ J wl f Jan. 1, 1963 A. J. WITHOFF 3,070,814

SPRING-CUSHION STRUCTURES Filed May 29, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR.

W/BMWI Jl'zzfarn ey Patented Jan. 1, 1963 3,070,814 SPRlNG-CUSHION STRUCTURES Alfred J. Withotf, Cloquet, Minn, assignor to Wood Conversion Company, St. Paul, Minn, a corporation of Delaware Filed May 29, 1959, Ser. No. 816,925 16 Claims. (Cl. -354) The present invention relates to improved spring-cushions having a metal spring foundation and over a face thereof a layer of cushioning material.

In particular, it relates to spring-cushions, such as chair and sofa seats and backs, mattresses, and the like, in which a metal spring foundation provides at least one substantially flat force-receiving face formed of metal wires in various patterns of relationship and with various patterns of open areas in said face defined by lengths of said wires in said face which are substantially fixed in position in the extent of said face.

It is a practice to cover the said face of a spring foundation with sheet material known in the trade as a spring insulator, usually in sheet form, thus providing a spring base for receipt and support of resilient upholstery cushtioning material. The spring insulator functions to close the said open areas and thus provide a closed face to receive the cushioning material, which may be a cotton or other fiber mat or padding or resilient foam. Sometimes, the spring insulator is a separate sheet apart from the cushioning material, and sometimes it is a facing or liner secured to the cushioning material.

When the spring insulator is a separate sheet, it is a practice .to fasten it with mechanical fasteners, such as split rings, to a peripheral wire element at the face of the spring foundation, thus to mount it as a drumhead over the entire face of the spring foundation. This is particularly true of innerspring mattresses. Then the cushioning material is placed on the drumhe-ad to which it may or may not be tied or otherwise fixed in position sometimes by the casing of mattresses or the upholstery fabrics of sofas and chairs.

In repeated usage of such structures wherein the spring insulator is a sort of drumhead over the entire face of the spring foundation, the material of the drumhead stretches. Certain areas of the spring cushion receive more force in use than others, and in these areas the stretched excess of material of the drumhead is pulled to and forced into the open areas where such greater force is exerted. Thus, the initial upholstered efi'ect is changed by dimpling or pocketing into the open areas. In those structures which have coil springs, this effect is known as coil feel.

According to the present invention, the spring insulator is secured to taut condition over open areas in the face between opposite bounding wires in the face. And in the case of open areas in the face which are completely outlined and defined by wires in the face, the spring insulator is applied as a sort of drumhea-d secured to'said wires. Thus, any stretch in the drumhead is confined to each such open area. With respect to any one such open area, thestretch in the spring insulator beyond its periphery is not available to pocket within the said one area.

The invention is carried out by uniting the spring insulator material to the metal wires defining those open areas to have drumheads, and at least to a suflicient portion of the peripheral bounding wires of an open area to form a taut covering. Various expedients are available to do this. The spring insulator may be sewed to the bounding wires for each area, or clipped to them at many places, but such structures call for labor to an extent mitigating against commercial use.

The preferred method is touse an adhesive to bind the spring insulator to the peripheral or bounding wires of open areas. This may be done by applying a coat of suitable adhesive to one face of the insulator, applying the adhesive-covered face to the face of the spring foundation, and allowing or causing the adhesive to set. However, unless the adhesive over the open areas has a desired function, this method is wasteful of adhesive. To limit the use of adhesive, and also to expedite the process, the preferred method is to dip the face of the spring foundation into a fluid bath of the adhesive so constituted that suficient adhesive clings to the wires on removal. To do this, a thick viscous adhesive is used so as to leave a relatively thick covering of adhesive over the wires in the face. Then the spring insulator sheet, or a structure carrying such sheet, is combined with the adhesive-carrying wires.

To avoid further processing for setting the adhesive, such as heating when the adhesive is a thermosetting one, a liquid is used which is self-setting to a solid form, merely on standing. The preferred adhesive is one which sets to a flexible solid form. The solids of natural rubber or of synthetic elastorners are available as the base, either in aqueous latex form or in volatile solvent form. Those which are quick-drying are preferred, and a satisfactory one is a latex LC-3 cement of Columbia Cement Company, Brooklyn 37, New York. It sets quickly on stand ing to a tough, flexible, strong rubbery mass.

The invention is especially applicable to spring foundations of three dimensions, such as those having coil springs so tied as to form a body with two parallel faces of fixed dimension and a resilient thickness dimension. For cushioned sea-ts and backs, only one face of such foundation may be employed in the present invention. When the non-cushioned face of such seats and backs is to be covered as by a fabric, it is preferred to apply the fabric in the same way as the spring insulator for the cushioned face. For mattresses for juvenile beds, adult beds, couches, and the like, where reversibility is desired, both faces of the three-dimensional spring foundation are advantageously subjected to practice of the present invention.

'Another form of spring foundation is found in chair seats in which separate elements provide the face to be covered, as illustrated and described hereinbelow. Each element is a strong spring-wire in generally sinuous fiat form, secured endwise to form a flat arch as the forcereceiving face. Such elements are narrow relative to the dimension of the seat and a plurality of such arches are formed, usually by generally parallel elements.

The invention is illustrated in the drawings by reference to structures resulting from the preferred process described.

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a cushioned spring foundation for a chair seat, partly in section with portions successively removed.

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-section on line 2--2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view on line 3-3 of FIG. 1 showing detail of the fasteners for the spring wires. I

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary view on line 44 of FIG. 1 showing adhesive union between wire and spring insulator.

FIGQS represents a corner of a cushioned spring structure in plan view.

FIG. 6 is a cross-section on line 6-6 of FIG. 5, showing coiled springs diagrammatically in their outline to avoid confusion of lines.

FIG. 7 is a view of the corner of FIG. 5 looking up in the direction of arrow 7-7 in FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary cross-section on line 8-8 of FIG. 7.

3 FIG. 9 is a view similar to that of FIG. 7 showing another coil construction.

In FIG. 1 a spring foundation for a no-sag chair seat is illustrated. It has a frame 10 of four sides 11, 12, 13 and 14, one face of which is covered with a piece of plywood 16. The seat-face 17 of the frame has three arched spring members 18 with their ends held by metal fasteners 19 (FIG. 3) secured to the frame members 11 and 13 by nails 20. One member 18 is shown in its installed position. The center member 19 is shown covered with cottonet 22 as spring insulator, the meshes being square and about 6 per inch. The stippled irregular areas 23 represent adhesive in the relation better shown in FIG. 4, wholly surrounding the wire 13 and the cords of the cottonet.

A coiled spring foundation such as used in mattresses is shown in FIGS. to 8, with cushioning on both sides thereof. For the purpose only of illustration, the spring foundation is faced with a duplex layer of a fibrous upholstery cushioning adhesively lined with a fabric such as cottonet for use as the spring insulators. The face of the spring is dipped into a bath of latex adhesive and the duplex layer then applied for the adhesive to set.

Looking down on a corner as shown in FIG. 5, there is shown the cushioning felt 25. The dotted line 26 illustrates the outline of the coiled spring foundation, being specifically a peripheral wire better shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. FIG. 6 shows cottonet 27 adhesively lining the under-' side of the felt 25, and united to the face formed by coiled springs 28, the adhesive not being shown to avoid confusion of lines. The said face is formed by the ends of springs 28 as they are tied together and to the peripheral wire 26.

FIG. 7, looking up at the interface of the cottonet 27 and the face of the spring foundation, shows only the wires which lie in and form said face and define open areas in said face. The peripheral wire 26 is shown in its rightangular form at the corner being viewed. Only four coils are illustrated, the pattern of which four is repeated in both directions. They are indicated by letters A, B, C and D located at their axes. The end portion 30 of coil A is tied at 31 to coil B, which has a short wire portion B32 lying in the face, but extending inwardly from the face as indicated by dotted line portion 13-33. Wire portion A-St) loops for about 360 in the face about the axis of coil A, being tied at points 34, 35, 36 and 37 to the peripheral wire 26. At point 38 the end portion B-40 of coil B is tied to it, and beyond the tie the short portion A-41 lying ing the face extends inwardly as indicated by dotted lines A-42.

Coil B is tied to wire 26 at points 44 and 45 and to coil C at points 46 and 47. To coil B is tied at 48 the end of a coil not shown in full.

Coil C in its position and with its ties otherwise duplicates the coil B.

Coil D has its free end portion D-5tl tied at 51 to coil C, is tied at the left to an adjacent coil at points 52 and 53, and to the right to coil A at 54 and 55, from which it continues to a tie at 56 with the end portion C-57.

Thus, the wires between points 31-47-5655 fully outline a small open area in the face. The coils A and B form two generally circular areas with a tangential channel connecting them.

The stippled areas 59 designate the flexible gummy adhesive around the wires binding the wires to the cottonet and through its meshes to the felt 25. In FIG. 7, the cottonet 27 is only indicated at numerous places. Its relation to the wires is better shown in FIG. 8.

FIG. 8 shows a wire of coil D, cottonet 27, felt 26, and adhesive 59.

Coil spring structures vary greatly in design, and the form shown in FIGS. 5 to S is not intended to limit the invention. Other forms exist in which the end of each coilprovides in the face an approximately circular area into which the upholstery may pocket in prior structures,

and across which this invention provides an effective drumhead to prevent pocketing.

In FIG. 9, only the face of the spring structure is shown in the manner of FIG. 7. The peripheral boundary is a fiat steel ribbon 61, shown at a corner. Rows of coils are separated and in each row the coils are adjacent as indicated by coils E and F. Adjacent coils G and H in the next row are identical to coils E and F, the only exception being in the relation of coils G and H to the peripheral member 61, the corner curve of which coincides with the curvature of coil E. The end portion of coil E is tied at 63 to a portion E-64 of the same wire indicated by dotted lines, which end portion in the drawing is slightly elevated from the face shown, because the wire coils away from the face.

Coil F is constructed the same as coil E and the two overlap in the area designated 65. The overlapping portions are tied together by coiled wire 66 which extends from the end row having coils E and F across the parallel rows where it ties overlapping coils, as i lustrated by coils G and H. In addition, the entire extent of the peripheral member 61 is wrapped with a coil of wire 67 which serves to tie adjacent coils such as E, F and G to it as illustrated by the tied portions E-68, F-69 and 6-70.

The stippled area throughout indicates the binding solids from dipping the face of the spring foundation in latex, for binding the cottonet 71 and the felt 72 to the faces of the coils. When the cottonet 71 is first secured to the felt 72 and this duplex layer is applied to the adhesive bearing wires, the set adhesive not only unites the cottonet to the wires, but also binds the cushioning material to the wires. As a result, the cushioning material is secured to the cottonet independently of the adhesive anchored to the wires and to the cushioning material through the perforate sheet. The portion E-64 has been above described as elevated in the drawing from the face, so that there is lacking an adhesive contact with the spring insulator 71. The elevation is slight, due to the thickness of the tie 64. The viscosity of the adhesive into which the spring foundation is dipped, and the pressure of combining the spring insulator with the wet-adhesive face, determine whether or not regions corresponding to E64 are united to the spring insulator. In some coils there is adhesion and in others no adhesion. Coils E and H are illustrated as having no adhesion as at E-64, and the corresponding regions in coils F and G are indicated as connected by the set adhesive, with or without actual contact.

From the foregoing, it is apparent that the invention is not limited to or by any particular spring structure, and that numerous changes and modifications are contemplated which fall within the scope of the invention as expressed in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A spring base for upholstery cushioning material comprising an open metal wire spring foundation having a substantially flat face and resiliency perpendicular to said face, said foundation having lengths of wire lying in substantially fixed positions in said flat face,

flexible spring-insulator sheet material over said face and outside said foundation, and adhesive material at the interfaces of said springinsulator sheet and said lengths of wire in said face,

each of said lengths of wires in said face having an exposed body of said adhesive extending from the adhesive at said interface around the wire,

said body of adhesive being united to said insulator sheet material over areas laterally of said interface, said adhesive-bearing lengths of wire in part at least defining open areas in said face of minimum crossdimension between opposite lengths of wire which dimension is many times greater than the thickness dimension of the insulator sheet material, the peripheries of said open areas being substantially fixed by the substantially fixed positions of said lengths of wire in the extent of said face,

whereby said sheet material adhesively united to said lengths of wire in said face provides a taut and fixed covering closing each of said open areas,

thereby preventing slippage of said insulator sheet material over wires defining said open areas and preventing dimpling of the insulator sheet material into an open area by force transmitted through and by an upholstery cushion on said spring-insulator sheet.

2. A spring base according to claim 1 in which resilient upholstery cushioning material is secured to the face of said spring-insulator sheet opposite said spring founda tion.

3. A spring base according to claim 1 in which the spring-insulator sheet material is an open mesh fabric of cords having a multiplicity of openings therein positioned within said open areas in the face of said spring foundation, the said adhesive at the regions at and closely adjacent said lengths of wire extending through open meshes and surrounding said cords.

4. A spring base according to claim 1 in which the spring-insulator sheet material is an open mesh fabric of cords having a multiplicity of openings therein positioned within said open areas in the face of said spring foundation, the said adhesive at the regions at and closely adjacent said lengths of wire extending through open meshes and surrounding said cords, and in which resilient upholstery cushioning material is secured to the face of said spring-insulator sheet opposite said spring foundation.

5. A spring base according to claim 1 in which the spring-insulator sheet material is an open mesh fabric of cords having a multiplicity of openings therein positioned within said open areas in the face of said spring foundation, the said adhesive at the regions at and closely adjacent said lengths of wire extending through open meshes and surrounding said cords, in which resilient upholstery cushioning material is positioned in contact with the face of said spring-insulator sheet opposite said spring foundation, and in which said adhesive extending through said openings is united to said cushioning material.

6. A spring base according to claim 1 in which the spring-insulator sheet material is an open mesh fabric of cords having a multiplicity of openings therein positioned within said open areas in the face of said spring foundation, the said adhesive at the regions at and closely adjacent said lengths of wire extending through open meshes and surrounding said cords, in which resilient cushioning material is united to the face of the springinsulator sheet opposite said spring foundation independently of said adhesive, and in which said adhesive extending through said openings is united to said cushioning material.

7. The method of forming a spring base for upholstery cushioning material employing a open metal wire spring foundation having a substantially flat face and resiliency perpendicular to said face, which foundation has lengths of wire lying in substantially fixed positions in said flat face, which lengths of wire in part at least define open areas in said face to be covered and closed by springinsulator sheet material of cords having mesh openings therein, the minimum cross-dimension between opposing bounding lengths of wire being many times greater than the thickness of the spring-insulator sheet, which method comprises surrounding all the wires in said face with a thick body of viscous fluid adhesive capable of setting to solid adhesive, superimposing on said adhesive-bearing face spring-insulator sheet material of cords having mesh openings therein and effecting flow of said fluid adhesive through said mesh openings to regions beyond the outer face of said sheet and around cords of said sheet, while 70 retaining adhesive around all the Wires in said face, and setting the adhesive.

8. The method of claim 7 in which resilient upholstery cushioning material is positioned in contact with the face of said spring-insulator sheet opposite said spring foundation and in contact with said fluid adhesive which extends beyond the mesh openings in said sheet, whereby on setting the adhesive the cushioning material is united by said adhesive to said spring foundation and to said springinsulator sheet.

9. The method of forming a spring cushion having upholstery cushioning material, spring-insulator sheet material and employing an open metal wire spring foundation having a substantially flat face and resiliency perpendicu- 10 lar to said face, which foundation has lengths of wire lying in substantially fixed positions in said fiat face, which lengths of wire in part at least define open areas in said face to be covered and closed by application of upholstery cushioning material having secured to one face thereof spring-insulator sheet material of cords having mesh openings therein with respect to which openings the open areas in said face are many times larger, the minimum crossdimension between opposing bounding lengths of wire ,being many times greater than the thickness of the springinsulator sheet, which method comprises surrounding all the wires in said face with a thick body of viscous fluid adhesive capable of setting to solid adhesive, superimposing on said adhesive-bearing face the exposed face of said spring-insulator sheet having said mesh openings therein and effecting flow of said fluid adhesive through said mesh openings to regions beyond the sheet and around .cords thereof and into contact with said cushioning material, while retaining adhesive around all the wires in said face, and setting the adhesive.

10. A spring cushion structure comprising a metal wire base presenting a flat face of spaced wires and being resilient at right angles to said face, said wires forming open spaces in said face of large area relative to the size of the wires in said face and relative to the overall area of said face occupied by wire, spring-insulator sheet ma- ;terial secured to said wires in said face, and adhesive material in a relatively thick layer anchored to said sheet ,material at least alongside each wire, the adhesive of said layer being looped around the wires from said anchored positions.

11. A spring cushion structure according to claim 10 in which lengths of said wires lie in said face.

12. A spring cushion structure according to claim 10 in which said sheet material is perforate and in which some of said adhesive extends through and beyond the perforations.

13. A spring cushion structure according to claim 10 in which said sheet maten'al'is an open-mesh sheet of cords and in which some of said adhesive extends through the meshes and around cords.

14. A spring cushion structure according to claim 10 in which said sheet material is a perforate sheet adhesively secured to the face of cushioning material, and in which some of said adhesive extends through the perforations and is bonded to the cushioning material.

15. A spring-cushion structure comprising a metal wire base presenting a flat face of spaced wires and being resilient at right angles to said face, said wires forming open spaces in said face of large area relative to the 0 size of the wires in said face and relative to the overall area of said face occupied by wire, spring-insulator sheet material secured to said wires in said face by the hereinafter mentioned adhesive, said sheet material being perforate, cushioning material in contact with the face of said perforate sheet opposite said wires, and adhesive material in a relatively thick layer anchored to said sheet material alongside each wire and anchored to each wire, said adhesiv-e material extending through said perforate sheet and there united to said cushioning material.

16. A spring-cushion according to claim 15 in which said cushioning material is secured to said perforate sheet material independently of said adhesive anchored to said wires and to said cushioning material through said perforate sheet.

(References on following page) References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Schindler Oct. 10, 1933 Flint Jan. 18, 1949 5 Flint Jan. 18, 1949 Flint Jan. 18, 1949 Flint July 19, 1949 Flint July 4, 1950 Wesley Jan. 27, 1953 10 8 Gordon Dec. 15, 1953 Hodge Aug. 14, 1956 Hammond Nov. 5, 1957 Reed June 14-, 1960 Zerbee June 28, 1960 Crane et a1 Sept. 27, 1960 FOREIGN PATENTS France Aug. 24, 1959 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3 070 8l4 January 1 1963 Alfred Ja Withoff It is hereby certified that error appears in the above numbered patent requiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

Column 1, line 53, for "secured to read secured 1n column 3, line 49, for r-"ing" read in column 5, line 54 for "a open" read an open Signed and sealed this 25th day of June 1963.,

(SEAL) Attest:

ERNEST w. SWIDER DAVID DD Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents 

1. A SPRING BASE FOR UPHOLSTERY CUSHIONING MATERIAL COMPRISING AN OPEN METAL WIRE SPRING FOUNDATION HAVING A SUBSTANTIALLY FLAT FACE AND RESILIENCY PERPENDICULAR TO SAID FACE, SAID FOUNDATION HAVING LENGHTS OF WIRE LYING IN SUBSTANTIALLY FIXED POSITIONS IN SAID FLAT FACE, FLEXIBLE SPRIN-INSULATOR SHEET MATERIAL OVER SAID FACE AND OUTSIDE SAID FOUNDATION, AND ADHESIVE MATERIAL AT THE INTERFACES OF SAID SPRINGINSULATOR SHEET AND SAID LENGTHS OF WIRE IN SAID FACE, EACH OF SAID LENGTHS OF WIRES IN SAID FACE HAVING AN EXPOSED BODY OF SAID ADHESIVE EXTENDING FROM THE ADHESIVE AT SAID INTERFACE AROUND THE WIRE, SAID BODY OF ADHESIVE BEING UNITED TO SAID INSULATOR SHEET MATERIAL OVER AREAS LATERALLY OF SAID INTERFACE, SAID ADHESIVE-BEARING LENGTHS OF WIRE IN PART AT LEAST DEFINING OPEN AREAS IN SAID FACE OF MINIMUM CROSSDIMENSION BETWEEN OPPOSITE LENGTHS OF WIRE WHICH DIMENSION IS MANY TIMES GREATER THAN THE THICKNESS DIMENSION OF THE INSULATOR SHEET MATERIAL, THE PERIPHERIES OF SAID OPEN AREAS BEING SUBSTANTIALLY FIXED BY THE SUBSTANTIALLY FIXED POSITIONS OF SAID LENGTHS OF WIRE IN THE EXTENT OF SAID FACE, WHEREBY SAID SHEET MATERIAL ADHESIVELY UNITED TO SAID LENGTHS OF WIRE IN SAID FACE PROVIDES A TAUT AND FIXED COVERING CLOSING EACH OF SAID OPEN AREAS, THEREBY PREVENTING SLIPPAGE OF SAID INSULATOR SHEET MATERIAL OVER WIRES DEFINING SAID OPEN AREAS AND PREVENTING DIMPLING OF THE INSULATOR SHEET MATERIAL INTO AN OPEN AREA BY FORCE TRANSMITTED THROUGH AND BY AN UPHOLSTERY CUSHION ON SAID SPRING-INSULATOR SHEET. 